If I were asked to pour one glass that sums up what’s most exciting to me about Spanish wine, Fazenda Prádio’s Mencía is probably the wine I’d choose. Narrowing the choice down to one would be wrenching because there’s a lot of exciting stuff happening in Spain, but the electrifying quality of this wine, combined with its amazing value, wins it my vote.
Full disclosure: I worked harvest at Fazenda Prádio in 2016, so my connection with this winery, and Ribeira Sacra in general, runs deep. This
tinto is a by-the-glass staple of my wine list, a bottle I can turn to every time someone asks for Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and I know it will make them happy. The vibrancy of the wine, the specialness of its place, and the conscientious way it is produced all inspire curiosity and conversation. During Summer, I throw a little chill on it and use it as a versatile bridge between meat and fish dishes (it feels custom-made for regional dishes like
pulpo gallego). But it can handle a mid-Winter steak seared on the
plancha, too. As a baseball junkie, I think of it as the ultimate utility player—especially when you consider its inherent value. It comes from biodynamically farmed vines grown on the dizzyingly steep banks of the Miño River, and from an obsessive winemaker, Xabi Soeanes, whose dedication to his small plot of vines is second to none. So today, via SommSelect, I’m sliding a glass of Fazenda Prádio across the bar to you. I know you are going to love it.
As I learned firsthand a few years ago, there’s plenty to love. Standing on the banks of the Miño on my first day at Fazenda Prádio, I looked up at an almost sheer wall of vines above, the upper slopes dotted with old granite houses with bright orange terra cotta roofs. Xabi’s five hectares of vines climbed up the slope in giant steps, then looped around the winery and spilled back down again, forming an almost perfect circle. The winery itself is reminiscent of a loft-style apartment, with a small area upstairs to ferment grapes and a room carved out underneath for barrel storage. The Miño and Sil River valleys define this part of Spain: lush, green, sparsely populated, untrammeled. More than a few wine geeks have come here and not wanted to leave (myself included).
Fazenda Prádio lays off the beaten path in Pacio de Carracedo, a tiny village in the town of A Peroxa in the province of Ourense, Galicia. The climate here is more Atlantic than Continental and gets a lot less sunshine than the terraced vineyards of Ribeira Sacra’s better-known Amandi subzone. Vineyards are farmed organically—no small feat for this wet, challenging region. Vines reach 500 meters in altitude facing south and south-east and reach the banks of the Miño, rooted in soils of granite with a decomposed sandy topsoil. The sandy topsoil allows for drainage, retains the heat from the granite underneath and makes way for hearty aromas and softer tannins.
Today’s 2017 was fermented in open-top granite
lagares Xabi and his friends built and installed by hand, a method used in Galicia generations ago. It is then transferred to barrels by gravity and aged for 8 months. The wine is deep ruby with pomegranate and red fruit aromas popping out of the glass. It is reminiscent of farmers market bing cherries when they've finally hit their proper ripeness. It is focused and linear on the palate; bright, lifted, high in acidity with notes of balsamic and the granite graphite quality that comes from Mencía grown on the Miño. Tannins are soft but the acidity keeps things lively and drives a floral, persistent finish. Splash it in a decanter 15 minutes before serving in Burgundy bowls on the cooler side, say 60 degrees. In the winter months, pair with Latin pop music, roasted squash with pomegranate seeds, or the attached poached cod with tomato and saffron. My final piece of advice? You’re going to need more than one. Enjoy!
